A government watchdog and media organization has filed separate lawsuits against the Francis City Council and South Summit Fire District for allegedly violating the state’s Open and Public Meetings Act, which requires municipalities and government agencies to conduct business in public with ample notice for residents interested in attending or speaking.
Utah Defenders of Open Government, which describes itself online as a group dedicated to increasing government transparency, submitted two complaints to Third District Court last week.
The lawsuit naming the Francis City Council was based on two meetings held the week of Feb. 23, which were not publicly announced at least 24 hours before the meeting started as required by state law. The lawsuit claimed the location of the meetings, agenda items and other key information about the purpose were not available in advance.
The filing questioned the validity of any decisions made during the two meetings because of the alleged Open and Public Meetings Act violation. The watchdog group requested Third District Judge Richard Mrazik declare the meetings illegal and compel the Francis City Council to comply with state law, as well as award attorney fees.
It is not clear if the City Council would need to vacate specific decisions made during the February meetings or how those agenda items would be rectified if the judge declared the meetings invalid.
The state has a public notices website to display a list of all open meetings in Utah. Local governments are required to post notices and agendas on the website in addition to advertising meetings in at least three other public places, such as a local media outlet or the door of City Hall.
The two Francis incidents appear to be a City Council meeting scheduled for 5:45 p.m. on Feb. 26 and a joint session between the City Council and the Francis City Planning Commission at 6 p.m. the same day. The notices and agendas are currently available on the website, but the information was not uploaded until 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 26 — approximately 8 hours before the meetings started.
Utah Defenders of Open Government filed a similar lawsuit against the South Summit Fire District, alleging the district held a meeting on Dec. 17, 2025, without the necessary 24-hour notice. It also claimed the Fire District failed to create and provide an audio recording of the meeting to the public within three days, as state law requires.
The complaint alleged that a closed meeting held on the same day also violated the Open and Public Meetings Act because it was improperly noticed, which means the conversation should have happened in an open meeting.
The state’s public notices website indicated the South Summit Fire District posted the agenda for the meeting around 8:15 a.m. on Dec. 17, 10 hours before the meeting started.
The watchdog organization requested Mrazik declare the South Summit Fire District meeting illegal, too, as well as order the public release of the closed meeting’s recording and official minutes.
A spokesperson for the South Summit Fire District said he was unaware of the filing Monday afternoon. Francis City Mayor Jeremie Forman declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing ongoing litigation.